At a time when pastors are struggling to rebuild their congregations after the COVID-19 pandemic, Howard University School of Divinity’s (HUSD) Black Congregations Resource Center has reintroduced itself to the community.
Dr. Harold Dean Trulear, Ph.D, has been named as the new director of the Resource Center that was first created nearly a decade ago and has allowed Howard to work with large and small churches across the country.
“Our three foci are preaching, congregational life, and social justice,” said Trulear, a veteran theologian and associate professor of Applied Theology at the School of Divinity.
In an interview with The Washington Informer, Dr. Kenyata Gilbert, Ph.D, HUSD dean, talked about the work the center has been doing with a variety of churches “since around 2013,” which led to a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.
“The Black Church is diverse. It consists of large and small churches, congregations in urban, suburban, and rural areas, and it is both denominational and nondenominational,” Trulear said. “We seek to provide resources that can be adaptable in multiple venues and settings.”
Trulear said that the center identified between seven to 10 congregations to be part of a case study and both large and small and urban and rural churches are doing well in terms of growth.
The material for the courses in the program includes the writings of Howard Thurman, Lisa Allen, and Barbara Holmes.Trulear said participating churches can also look to “historical exemplars,” like Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and Apostolic Church of God in Chicago for a study on maintaining and growing congregations.
Trulear said other churches, not just large ministries, are doing well.
“Look at Peace Fellowship Church in the District under the leadership of Delonte Gholston,” he said. “The most successful churches are when there is a connection between worship and social justice.”
For instance, on Peace Fellowship’s Facebook page, Gholston posted that the church partnered with CenterPoint Baptist Church, pastored by the Rev. Dr. Orlando Jermaine Bego, for Friday’s Peace Walk in Deanwood.
“Thank you to Pastor O. Jermaine Bego for showing up to love and connect with our neighbors! Some brothers who didn’t have jobs a month ago have jobs now and more are on the way! God is moving,” the post read.
Ghloston said the work at Peace Fellowship is part of the church’s mission to serve the community.
“We are not a perfect Church by any stretch, we are just trying,” Gholston, who became pastor of the church in 2017. “We have always been focused on Deanwood in Ward 7. Going into the neighborhood not as messiahs but as servants like Jesus. Jesus said don’t call me master, call me friend.”
Trulear also emphasized the importance of intergenerational ministry. However, he noted that by the time some churches realize that there is a need to listen to churches’ older congregants and leaders, “many of the senior citizens are gone.”
Under Trulear’s leadership, the resource center, in addition to classes, will provide continuing education programs for church leaders, collect and disseminate information, and host conferences and podcasts for the community.
“Trulear is a premier voice in social justice and criminal justice reform, and his spirit of ambassadorship is unparalleled,” said Gilbert, who also championed the importance of the Black Congregations Resource Center.
“It is allowing our divinity school to make significant contributions both locally and nationally.”